Blue Horizon Results.

[Chrys]

My wife is currently on 50mcg Levo and 10mcg Liothyronin daily. Am I right thinking she could take more Levo?

CRP 2.00 <5.0 mg/L

Ferritin 77.3 20 - 150 ug/L

Thyroid Function

TSH 1.30 0.27 - 4.20 mIU/L

T4 Total 71.7 64.5 - 142.0 nmol/L

Free T4 L 11.65 12 - 22 pmol/L

Free T3 5.50 3.1- 6.8 pmol/L

Immunology

Anti-Thyroidperoxidase abs H 236.2 <34 kIU/L

Anti-Thyroglobulin Abs H 638.6 <115 kU/L

[greygoose]

How does she feel?

Why is she on T4 + T3? If it's because she has trouble converting, then there's no point in increasing the T4. If you want to increase anything, increase the T3 a tad.

When someone is on T3, the FT4 is going to be low, because the body doesn't hold on to as much T4, because it doesn't need it.

Her FT3 looks quite good, but if she still has symptoms, there's room for an increase. And her TSH is still a tad high.

And, she has Hashi's, so she could be needing an increase in T3 in the future, so keep an eye on it.

Her ferritin could be higher. It should be at least mid-range. Did you not have the vit D, B12 and folate tested?

[Chrys in reply to greygoose]

Thanks GG, she is feeling a lot better than she was 6 months ago, but not 100%, with various aches and pains, and often gastric discomfort, which I often wonder is due to all the supplements she takes. Vit B12 was slightly high, and we have cut Vit B supplement back to every other day two weeks ago.

Vitamin B12 H 771 Deficient <140 pmol/L

Insufficient 140 - 250 pmol/L

Consider reducing dose >725 pmol/L

Serum Folate >45.400 8.83 - 60.8 nmol/L

She has difficulty taking higher doses of Iron.

This was the Plus Ten which does not test Vit D.

She is currently on :

2400iu Vit d3 (Suffers from Osteopenia)

14 mg iron

15mg Zinc

200ug Selenium

1 ml liquid Magnesium

700mg Omega 3

1000mg Vit C taken with Levo

Vitamin B50 complex, every other day.

Betaine HCL plus Pepsin

50mcg T4

10Mcg T3

We have two NHS blood tests next week, one for the Haemotologist for low platelets, and the second for our friendly endo who prescribed the T3, (after I said she would stay on NDT rather than revert to Levo only) and suggested last time that more T3 may be required.

[greygoose in reply to Chrys]

Her B12 isn't that high. Certainly nothing to worry about. And, remember, when you're supplementing B12, the blood test is going to be skewed, so it's probably not that high at all.

Was she not taking any methylcobalamin? That's what people usually take for low B12. Plus a B complex. If she's only taking a B complex every other day, she's really not going to get much B12 out of it. People usually take 1000 mcg as a maintenance dose.

Is she taking vit K2 with her D3? If not, the extra calcium that she will get from her food, won't get into the bones, and could build up in the tissues.

She might be better off taking her vit C - or at least some of it - with her iron. It helps absorption and protects the stomach. Actually, she could double that dose and take 1000 with her hormone and 1000 with her iron.

But, she's only on a low dose of thyroid hormone replacement. I think she really could do with an increase in T3.

[Chrys in reply to greygoose]

I should have mentioned that she took her Levo 17 hours before the test, and T3 5 hours before.

[greygoose in reply to Chrys]

Well, that will have made some difference - levels higher than they normally would be - but impossible to know exactly how much difference.

It would be better to leave 12 hours with the T3, and 24 hours for the T4.

[Chrys]

The B50 Complex contains methylcobalamin, and 400iu of the D3 dose is in a tablet called Adcal prescribed specifically for ostopenia. We have occasionally taken an extra 10mcg T3, which certainly does no harm, but as she is very slowly improving, with no brain fog these days, although memory still not good, we have been cautious with upping it continually. We'll try the extra Vit C with the iron, It was recommended to take it with the Levo to help absorption.

Thanks very much for your comments.

[greygoose in reply to Chrys]

It's really not a good idea to sometimes take extra T3. The body needs a constant, steady flow of T3, otherwise, it just doesn't know where it is! It would be far better to increase it by 5 mcg every day for a couple of weeks, and then retest. You can always reduce it if it appears to be too much. Sounds as if she does need an increase. She's not out of the woods yet.

I realise the B complex probably contains methylcobalamin, but I very much doubt it's enough.

Has she had her calcium tested, and proved to be deficient? If not, it's a very bad idea to take calcium supplements - osteopenia or no osteopenia (and there is some discussion as to whether that is a real thing, or just a Big Pharma gimmick to sell more drugs!) Calcium is only one of the 'ingredients' of good bones - and, to be honest, magnesium is far more important - and it is much better to get it from foods, rather than supplements. If she is taking vit D3 (and 400 iu is not nearly enough!) then she is increasing the absorption of calcium from her food - it is actually very rare for people to be calcium deficient in the western world. And, she should be taking vit K2 to make sure that calcium gets into the bones, rather than building up in the soft tissues - which excess calcium tends to do. I would strongly suggest that you do some research into the subject, and a stern discussion with your doctor - who probably know nothing at all about nutrition. The adcal could very well be doing more harm than good.

Is she taking magnesium, unlike calcium, most people are deficient in magnesium, because soils are depleted. And magnesium is not only a constituent of bone, but a co-factor of magnesium. So they should be taken together. And, there's no point in testing magnesium, because it will always be in range, due to the way the body handles magnesium. But, that doesn't mean you're not deficient. So, best to just take some.

I agree, it's a good idea to take vit C with levo. But, it's an even better idea to take it with iron!

[Chrys in reply to greygoose]

Thanks GG, she is taking a total of 2400iu vit D per day but will look into the magnesium issue plus K2.